A study published in Gastro Hep Advances evaluated ColoPrep, a two-way text messaging program designed to help patients prepare for and attend scheduled colonoscopies.
The study included 36,160 patients across three outpatient endoscopy facilities at an academic health system in the Philadelphia region. The program sends appointment reminders, answers common bowel preparation questions and connects patients with staff when additional guidance is needed.
Following implementation, colonoscopy completion rates increased by 5.9 percentage points more at intervention sites than at the control site. When sigmoidoscopies were excluded, the difference was 8.4 percentage points. Among Black patients, the results showed a similar direction of improvement, although the difference was not statistically significant. The intervention did not significantly improve bowel preparation quality.
The authors suggest that timely reminders and the ability to ask questions through two-way messaging may help patients overcome forgetfulness and confusion about preparation instructions. They identify AI-personalized communications as a potential direction for future research.